The Edgewood Center recently received five stars for its overall quality of care, staffing and safety from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The Edgewood Center is one of only three New Hampshire long-term care facilities in the Greater Portsmouth area to receive a five-star rating. Ratings were based on visits by CMS evaluation teams, data collection and staffing information from last fall.
The overall star rating for nursing homes lets people compare nursing homes on topics they consider most important through an easy-to-use online tool, that provides a snapshot of the quality of each long-term care center. The ratings range between one to five stars and the overall rating combines results and data from three important sources – health inspections, onsite staffing and quality measures in various areas of resident care.
“To receive a five-star rating during a pandemic and the upheaval it brought on our processes and systems of care is a major testament to our amazing team of caregivers who went so far above and beyond to care for our residents, day in and out. I believe it’s also a testament to the Edgewood Center’s patient first mission – something we have held true to throughout our nearly 50-year history as a family owned and run business,” said Patricia Ramsey, owner of the Edgewood Center.
The Edgewood Center is an award-winning senior care facility that specializes is short-stay rehab, long-term care and memory support. Its mission is to provide exceptional service and improve the quality of life of our residents one relationship at a time. Its goal for long-term care and memory support programs is to promote the highest practical level of health and independence with the upmost respect.
According to CMS, the health inspection star rating is based on each nursing home’s current health inspection and two prior inspections, as well as findings from the most recent three years of complaint inspections and three years of infection control inspections. The staffing rating is based on the following measures: RN hours per resident per day; and total nurse staffing (including RN, LPN and nurse aide) hours per resident per day. The quality of resident care measures are based on data that CMS assigns a select set of clinical data measures.
CMS, the federal agency that runs the Medicare program, created this tool in collaboration with organizations representing people with Medicare, hospice organizations, other stakeholders and federal agencies. Although the tool was created for people with Medicare in mind, many of the measures apply to people who may not have Medicare. The tool is a useful, third party resource for those exploring long-term care options for loved ones.
